■ Investment
Security first, India says
India on Wednesday said it welcomed investments from China, but New Delhi will give its go-ahead only after its security concerns are satisfied. Economic ties with China -- with whom India is slowly mending relations after a brief but bitter border conflict in 1962 -- "has shown a rapid increase," foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said in a statement. "While we welcome foreign investments and companies in India, this has to be in accordance with our relevant domestic laws and regulations, and taking into consideration our security concerns and assessments," Sarna said. Sarna's statement comes days after a report in the Times of India said New Delhi had decided not to allow Chinese companies to invest in or manage any Indian port due to "security concerns."
■ infrastructure
Airport under construction
Construction began yesterday in a predominantly Tibetan region of southwest China on what will become the world's second-highest airport, state media said. The Kangding airport, in the western part of Sichuan Province, will be located at 4,280m above sea level, the Xinhua news agency reported. That will make it second only to the airport of Qamdo in Tibet, where planes take off and land in an oxygen-poor environment 4,334m above sea level. With a budget of 960 million yuan (US$120 million), Kangding airport will begin service in 2008, according to the report.
■ Manufacturing
Hyosung acquires tire unit
South Korea's Hyosung Corp said yesterday it has agreed to acquire 100 percent of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co's tire-cord-making unit in Utica, New York. In a statement, Hyosung said it will take over the unit this year and also later in the year plans to acquire additional tire-cord-manufacturing plants from Goodyear in Decatur, Alabama, Brazil and Luxembourg. Tire cord is the material, made of nylon or various industrial fibers, placed inside the tire for reinforcment. Hyosung, which manufactures a broad array of products including tire cords, carpets, plastic bottles and nylon, didn't provide the financial terms of the acquisition or a specific timeframe.
■ Electronics
iMacs get Core 2 Duo
Apple Computer Inc on Wednesday updated its iMac line with Intel Corp's latest microprocessors. The Intel Core 2 Duo processor is faster than the Intel chips previously used in the iMac and other Macintosh computers. Also on Wednesday, Apple unveiled a new version of its consumer desktop computer -- an iMac with a 24-inch (61cm) screen. With a 2.16-gigahertz chip, the high-end computer retails for US$1,999. Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, said that every iMac will now have the Core 2 Duo chips. The product upgrades come as Apple is looking to gain market share against its PC rivals that run Microsoft Corp's Windows operating system.
■ Electronics
HP in hot water
Hewlett-Packard Co's tactic to get personal phone records of board members without authorization is unethical and likely unlawful, experts said. In a filing on Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Palo Alto-based computer maker said it was not sure a consulting firm that obtained the records complied with laws protecting privacy.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2